It is generally known to provide an electrical connector plug and socket combination that can be plugged together and then mechanically locked to prevent an inadvertent disconnection or loosening thereof. For example, it is known to provide flexible arms having locking hooks or “snap hooks” on the ends thereof, on a housing of the connector plug, and to provide locking receivers or counter-recesses on the housing of the counter-plug or socket. When the plug and socket are plugged together, the locking hooks snap and engage into the locking receivers or counter-recesses. Thereby, the plug and socket are mechanically locked or securely held together.
Electrical plug and socket connections of the above mentioned type are generally known, in principle, from the German Patent Publication DE 30 41 938 C2. Among other applications, such plug and socket connections are widely used in aircraft manufacturing technology.
In a modern conventional design of such an electrical plug and socket connection, the locking mechanism includes two locking snap hooks provided on opposite sides of the housing of the connector plug. Particularly, the locking snap hooks are provided on flexible arms formed on the sides of the housing of the connector plug. These locking snap hooks are selectively unlockable or disengageable from the locking receivers of the socket by applying lateral finger pressure to the flexible arms, so as to inwardly deflect the flexible arms and thereby release the locking snap hooks from the locking receivers. Then, the plug and socket connection can be separated by pulling apart the plug and socket.
While the conventional construction of such a locking mechanism using locking snap hooks on flexible arms is relatively simple and economical in its construction and in its utilization, it unfortunately requires a certain free access space on both sides of the locking snap hooks to make it possible to apply the required finger pressure to the flexible arms or snap hooks for unlocking the same. For example, in a typical conventional case, a lateral unobstructed space of about 80 mm is necessary in the plane of the opening of the connection arrangement to allow the necessary finger access to the locking snap hooks. In many installations, it is not possible to provide such a clear lateral access space at the sides of the connection arrangement, and in any event, this limits the ability to cluster several plug and socket connections or other elements next to one another.